h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So I've got to Z for zest for life.

Chidren and young people should have a zest for life. I remember being asked by the English teacher to produce a piece about 'things you love' and coming up with a long poem listing books, various foods, autumn leaves and frosty mornings. I don't think I could do it now.

It's partly that you become jaded. When you've see golden autumn leaves or red sunsets every year for sixty-odd years, it ceases to be special. But your mental landscape tends to get darker anyway - perhaps because the brain produces less serotonin, but also because most of us have lost people we cared for.

If I'm honest, I would admit to having struggled with depression a few times in my life, particularly after my mother died and I was looking after my son, who was a terrible two. So, is there anything you can do to emerge from low periods and regain that zest?

Evidence has shown that exercise in a green space is good - whether it's going for a walk in a local beauty spot or keeping an allotment. I've tried mindfulness meditation, which was good at the time, but I think you need to do it every day to make a difference. Being with people should help, although taking those first steps into a room full of strangers is daunting. I suppose taking up a new interest should be helpful too: enrolling for a course, or travelling somewhere you haven't visited before. Certainly the University of the Third Age in our area offers a range of activities from art to yoga.

But I wanted to argue with the tutor of a yoga course I went on, who read from something called 'Green Sprituality' which said that one should always think positive. Positive thinking is fine if you are embarking on a course, or applying for a job, but it doesn't make sense to turn it into a philosophy of life, because it denies the reality of human suffering. If someone you care for has died, you need to grieve and, if you are given a diagnosis of some life- limiting illness, you will probably want to cry. So maybe as we get older, one thing we can offer is a sense of perspective, and the message that there will be times when it's all right to be sad.

[Amy P]

I agree with your opinion on positive thinking. When my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer 9 years ago a lot of people told him if he thought positively he would improve his prognosis. What these people were essentially saying was "Don't think negative thoughts, don't be miserable, cos then you'll be literally killing yourself". What kind of pressure is that to put on a person? Luckily he ignored them and felt what he needed to at the time.

Exercise in green space is definitely good. I'm generally a pretty cheerful person and I'm sure some of that comes from the fact I walk my dog twice a day. This has the added benefit of casual conversation with other people without any social pressure. I'm not very social so this is perfect for me.

Deb